The Government Claimed This Man Did Not Exist (They Were Right) | Tales From the Bottle

This man disappeared for over 20 years, and not even he knows what happened to him during this time.
""Benjaman Kyle" was the alias chosen by an American man who had severe amnesia. On August 31, 2004, he was found, naked and injured, without any possessions or identification, next to a dumpster behind a Burger King restaurant in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Between 2004 and 2015, neither he nor the authorities had determined his identity or background, despite searches that had included television publicity and various other methods.
In late 2015, genetic detective work, which had gone on for years, led to the discovery of his identity as William Burgess Powell, born August 29, 1948. A gap of more than 20 years in his life history still remains without any documented records. With the rediscovery of his Social Security number, he has again become eligible for employment and has received public assistance."
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[@Qxir]

You guys sent me through to the semi-finals! If you wanna put me in the finals, please vote here (it's for a million dollars!): creatordao.com/thesearch/group/129/semi-finals/member/qxir Join membership: kzbin.info/door/GHDQtN_vzFYJaq_Fx1eikgjoin Second Channel: kzbin.info/door/t93hxFmjppL5nLRAX94UrA Merch: qxir.creator-spring.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/qxir Twitter: twitter.com/QxirYT Discord: discord.gg/jZzvvwJ Twitch: www.twitch.tv/qxiryt/ Subreddit: www.reddit.com/r/Qxir/

[@DoxxBoxx]

can i get like 2000 of that 1 million

[@DoxxBoxx]

please

[@DoxxBoxx]

please

[@Quakerino]

There you go scothish man

[@thryi]

Congratulations and good luck dude

[@PuddingMcMuffin]

I remember reading about this case several years ago and at the time his identity was still unknown. It's a shame that he lost twenty years of his life, but I'm glad that he was able to find someone from his family and get his name back.

[@MadScientist267]

I wonder how much of that 20 years he experienced in any degree... Meaning was it like the guy with the 7 second memory or did it happen in chunks... Just surviving takes some wherewithal, so this is kinda peculiar in a few ways

[@FedSmoker64]

Technically he didnt lose 20 years, he just misplaced it.

[@JustinKoenigSilica]

@@yeaman3214 I very much doubt that.

[@richardhobbs7360]

@@MadScientist267 Probably 7 second memory considering he knew about 9/11

[@commandercody2980]

@@yeaman3214 reply if you're not a bot

[@purplehaze2358]

Him recalling having a first name that started with 'B', perfectly lining up with the initials given to him as a nickname due to where he was found, is certainly an interesting coincidence. And that's not even mentioning the fact that he was found at a Burger King, and his real middle name was "Burgess". If that happened in a book, I probably would've called the writer a hack.

[@isaacbejjani5116]

A nickname for William is Bill, that could be why he thought his name began with a b

[@dillonmoore9810]

borderline jojolions first chapters

[@jackingwads7513]

Real life is stranger than fiction

[@blakerupp1444]

@YeaMan Yeah okay bot

[@KP-ur9vf]

@YeaMan Nah, shit.

[@avamasquerade]

A judge once told me that "technically" I didn't legally exist until he declared it in that exact moment because my parents "forgot" to put a name on my birth certificate. He had a grin across his face the whole time like he was just tickled pink by the whole case.

[@JoshPhoenix11]

I think they may have intentionally trying to save you from the 'Birth Certificate' fraud. Not having a birth certificate means you're a genuine real living Human person and because of that there isnt any law that has jurisdiction over you. Police have no jurisdiction over you, courts have no jurisdiction you dont have to pay tax, you are a complexly free Human Being. And because of that you would be a number one target of the establishment.

[@ThePaperKhan]

For some reason, they forgot to put my gender on mine. My sibling born a few years after me has their gender so I'm not sure why they forgot to put mine.

[@tryingmybest206]

@@ThePaperKhan maybe because gender is not the same as sex?

[@alan5506]

@@tryingmybest206 maybe leave politics at the door and be genuine? obviously he is not talking about sexual identity

[@MsTV.00]

@@alan5506 i mean what they said isnt political, its a fact, also saying "Gender /= sex" isnt referring to sexual orientation, but gender identity, two different things

[@dr.ryttmastarecctm6595]

The 20-year gap in his memory is frightening. During the Summer of 2010, I suffered an attack of Transient Global Amnesia. My brain disconnected from my memory center and I stopped making new memories. During this attack, I finished hanging up the laundry to dry, helped friends launch their sailboat, and rowed a tender out to my sailboat to pump out the previous night's rain. Sometime after that, I encountered my wife who recognized something was very wrong. I returned to my body around 10 pm in a hospital bed. I hadn't recorded about 12 hours of memories. After being discharged from the hospital, I taped a sign on the refrigerator that read, "If you don't remember why this sign is here, dial 9-1-1!"

[@khalidalali186]

Jesus fuck!!

[@The_Republic_of_Ireland]

Oh my lord...

[@joshlowman9540]

Now this is absolutely terrifying, are there any sort of symptoms before the onset of the amnesia? Sometimes I'm quite forgetful, but this an entirely different level.

[@agustinvenegas5238]

Fucked up that you managed to row up to your boat and pump rainwater out while having a serious medical emergency, glad you're seemingly fine now though

[@leopold7562]

Hang on a mo… How do you know you did all those things if your memory was broken? Hmmm… Yeah, I know, someone would’ve told you. But it does sound pretty terrifying. I once had a panic attack brought on by claustrophobia whilst stuck in a packed lift. I recall someone hauling the doors open a tiny bit and the next thing I recall was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, rocking gently, and watching everyone else get out. There were 20-odd people in that lift and I was right at the back of it. I lost maybe 30 seconds there, but that was bad enough

[@KubinWielki]

Counter-theory to the burger prince one: His name "Benjaman" was actually Banjo Man, and he had spent the missing 20 years being a wandering homeless bard, playing his banjo for money. One day, someone took offense at his music, seized his banjo, and beat him over the head with it, leaving him in burger king dumpster.

[@vulpes7079]

Why did they strip him tho

[@tgirlpride2024]

@@vulpes7079 perhaps to r*** him? perhaps the Burger king employee scared the person off from doing it?

[@KubinWielki]

@@vulpes7079 He played at a nudist party.

[@riograndedosulball248]

Fuck Piano Man, Banjo Man has a more interesting backstory

[@jeromeglick]

Naw... Banjo Man is Frank Cassel. He's not this guy

[@shadetreemetalworks]

I feel like they should take the knives away from Two Knife Man. It just seems negligent to let him run around like that.

[@mattmarzula]

I agree with you. If only for the sake of the other people in stabbing distance.

[@nullFoo]

Or maybe they could give him a third knife

[@Trandhal]

So you wish to deprive that poor misguided soul of his one striking feature? For shame. I say we upgrade him and give him TWO MORE knives, one for each foot!

[@John.McMillan]

Old two knives? Nah he's mostly harmless. Just dont try to touch his Jello.

[@LTPottenger]

The guy has a theme, and I respect that. You can't take his identity away!

[@reasonablegamer6199]

It's crazy to think how this happened and how 20 years of his life are still a mystery.

[@ReddFoxx1562]

It's interesting to think that this can probably not happen to anyone anymore.

[@current9300]

Similar thing happened to model Julie Strain. She got into a riding accident in her early 20s, and it wiped out most of her memories of her youth prior to that. While she went on to have a profilic career after that and retained her cognitive skills for few decades, the brain damage she suffered unfortunately caught up with her, and she died in her 50s while suffering from serious dementia.

[@Robin...222]

@YeaMan its trash

[@Mephitinae]

Oh man, this is one my biggest fears. To wake up clueless some day and then find out that I'm old

[@pfadiva]

I don't wake up clueless but sometimes it does hit me that I'm old. You go along, minding your own business, then hear on the radio that a favorite band from your youth is planning a FIFTIETH anniversary tour! As Terry Pratchett said, "Inside every old person is a young one wondering what the hell happened."

[@Mephitinae]

@@pfadiva I get that feeling when I watch youtubers in their 20s. Their "childhood" videogames were my "early midlife crisis" coping mechanism.

[@isaiahdaniels5643]

It will happen. One day you'll have a dream of your highschool years when you're in your late 50s or 60s. And you'll say, "fuck."

[@reaganation6000]

If assuming the fact that he's a homeless drunk initially, then him naked at that dumpster with amnesia is a blessing in disguise. He got treated, chose to turn his life around and have a decent living situation given the circumstances.

[@michaelchen1046]

He literally forgot about his drinking addiction

[@ericasilva2597]

he was not high, the exams proved

[@Accrovideogames]

@@ericasilva2597 Alcohol doesn't remain in your blood for very young. Plenty of alcoholics are periodically sober. Not all of them are intoxicated 24/7, especially homeless people who can't afford it. There's also a high chance he was left unconscious behind that Burger King for a very long time, enough to sober up.

[@hen334]

@@ericasilva2597and he literally had 3 depressions in his head

[@hen334]

Definitely not a homeless drunk he had three blunt force trauma depressions in his skull

[@congruentcrib]

One of my favorite things about this story is the fact that he didn’t seem too interested in finding his old self. According to him, it wasn’t his life… he didn’t remember it, why should he care. Being told stories about yourself isn’t the same as remembering stories about yourself.

[@behindyou702]

This story is absolutely insane, great work as always!

[@uniflowin1285]

how did you watch the whole vid in 5 minutes

[@mad_jelly]

@@uniflowin1285 that’s what I was thinking

[@brianlittleforest631]

@YeaMan no he didn't. That noise you call music is trash. I'd rather listen to a symphony of dogs farting.

[@mad_jelly]

@YeaMan I asked him he said it’s bad

[@ga_mmvii3022]

I would say It's quite...bizarre

[@the4tierbridge]

Honestly scary how easily this could happen

[@mattmarzula]

Scary or fortuitous?

[@the4tierbridge]

@@mattmarzula scary because it Is fortuitous. It could happen randomly at any place at any time.

[@comicbookguy2326]

lol this is not easy to happen

[@RESIST_DIGITAL_ID_UK]

Stay sober and it won’t happen to you

[@spencerlenz5050]

Easily? Completely forgetting your entire life permanently isn't exactly common.

[@Skorpychan]

It's likely the memory loss was related to the head injuries. Concussions, especially repeated ones, can do that. I'm missing a few months because of a particularly bad whack on the head myself.

[@KingKharibda]

sherlock holmes is that you?

[@thelastmanonearth2631]

I'm missing all kinds of months at a time in my memory. It's called getting older 🤷‍♂️

[@billy6044]

Xanax can do that too.

[@rikuleinonen]

@@thelastmanonearth2631 Getting older slowly fades away your memories, it doesn't suddenly erase a significant portion of your memories from existence in a matter of seconds.

[@Skorpychan]

@Safwaan My guess is that he crossed some sort of organised crime group, so they beat him up to teach him a lesson, went too far, then stripped him and dumped him somewhere far away to avoid all chance of being recognised.

[@spaguettoltd.7933]

Hey Qxir, I’ve got a guy for you: in 1993, the Mississippi River was flooding catastrophically, and a man named James Scott was on a bender. James’s wife Suzie was at work, on the far side of the river. Not wanting the wife to end his night of fun, James removed sandbags from the top of the levee in hopes that the floodwaters would strand her at work. His plan was successful. A little too successful. James got to keep partying, but in the process, flooded 14,000 acres of land, destroying structures, bridges, and farms. All so he could make a wild night out last a little bit longer.

[@DadaistTheater]

And he got life in prison for it! Which seems harsh and more due to his previous felonies. And some of the witness testimony has been put into doubt

[@milkyprank4833]

real life walking gta biohazard bioterrorist

[@JTA1961]

My buddy was doin time in the State of Missery (for weed) then but as he was old instead of sandbag making he got to be the "'water boy"'

[@John-Doe-Yo]

Is that what inspired the south park episode where cartman and Stan flooded a town or something by crashing a beaver dam?

[@ストマクランブル]

Except he didn't do it. He was framed so the insurance would pay out, as natural flooding wasn't covered, but human caused flooding pays out

[@GoodMorningBeautiful4]

This makes me wonder if getting amnesia could actually cure addiction. Like by the time you remember your addiction, the habit is broken and there's no reason to pick it back up again.

[@uvbe]

It may help with physical addiction but not psychological

[@celarc99]

This is an amazing story. My mother didn't register me at the hospital when I was born, because she assumed my dad did the paper work. But my dad showed up late, and had assumed she did the paper work already. The government of Canada only knew I existed once I graduated High School. I only managed to get legal identification because the principle of my high school pleaded to my local MP to help us out. My best friends mother, who was a police officer at the time, and my family doctor both had to write vouches for my existing, as I needed written proof from people in public offices that I lived within the country for the amount of time claimed. Whole process from start to finish took almost 3 years from the day the request was put in, until the day I finally got my birth certificate and social insurance number in the mail. Tbh, in hindsight its remarkable the amount of effort that has to be gone through just to get ID, all because of a simple paperwork mistake in the hospital. I can't imagine how much harder the process would've been if I had no idea what I did the entire 19 years of my life leading up to getting my ID, let alone not being remembered by anyone else as proof of having existed in that time.

[@MJW238]

This makes me think of how you should do a video about the triplets who didn’t know each other existed and accidentally found one another.

[@Swaggely]

very sad backstory to that

[@Fierce0Deity0Link]

Getting some Disco Elysium vibes out of that story. Searching for your identity is such an interesting game mechanic, but in real life it must be really depressing.

[@ryanmella9615]

Yeah it’s probably not as fun in real life as it is in a video game.

[@chev3569]

I mean its because he looks like the dude from disco elysium

[@iamsixsyllables9679]

oh shoot it's the funny touhou tf2 mapper :)

[@Fierce0Deity0Link]

@@iamsixsyllables9679 Hi how are you

[@zennyzenzen]

I had amnesia after a major mental breakdown. It's not fun at all and it's nothing like the movies. The most sinister part of it all is: you don't realize you have it. Lon story short - I spent 4 years mourning over my past self before I was able to move on with my life and build a new me.

[@eddoyle9627]

Legendary. With our own homeless crisis I shuddered when you mentioned that "they might not be there anymore" and we pay no attention.

[@klatubaradanikto]

The most shocking thing I learned from this is that there was once a Jeff Probst show.

[@danevertt3210]

Yea it was awful

[@elifishwhat]

yeah theres probably a reason I didn't know about it until now 💀

[@peegion4742]

The ending at 8:20 really hit hard, it's sad to think that some people on the street will never have their story known by anyone but themselves...

[@drosophilamelanogaster3121]

Retrograde Amnesia is more common than you think in heavy drinkers, mainly Korsakoff syndrome. I’m not a doctor but i recommend reading about it, i learned about similar case in a book „The man who mistook his wife for a hat”. Basically his memories were there (in his brain) before, but were „erased” due to damage the drinking did to his neuron bodies. There are so many people living like that, in perpetual state of waking up and realising they are 20 years older and in a place they can’t remember, they can forget their children, loved ones, and more, so much more. Horror.

[@ajhoward8888]

Makes sense. If you've ever met someone with retrograde memory loss, they act almost like a computer that's looking for programming. They often have a sense of themselves but no access to the details that would make that possible. So their brain unconsciously tries to sponge up context clues from the people and world around them to fill in that big old blank. You can literally suggest an identity to them and unless something they do remember contradicts it, they'll invent a new back story on the spot.

[@Ikcatcher]

It’s honesty terrifying your brain can just suddenly forget everything that makes you who you are

[@melody3741]

Its even worse. Everything you have ever experienced including the entire world is all filtered through your brain, you don’t experience the world directly at all, and that means anything that comes between your senses and frontal lobe can change or destroy your literal entire world and sense of self

[@melody3741]

Something can destroy the moon for instance all within your brain and you’d have no idea whether it was real or not. You could even be in a chair hooked to a computer matrix style

[@nonosetradome]

​@@melody3741When you see with your physical eyes you are only looking at the body

[@eoingilsenan2461]

Father has posted another most precious video for our pleasure

[@RaverOperatorGeeza]

Qxir is your daddy?

[@eoingilsenan2461]

@@RaverOperatorGeeza our daddy. Brother

[@klimpomp]

@@RaverOperatorGeeza We come from His Womb. Brother.

[@RaverOperatorGeeza]

@@klimpomp these are modern times we live in.

[@skaterocker666]

My Ex GFs uncle was involved in two motorcycle accidents, one when he was around 20 years old, and another one when he was around 40. After the second accident he laid in a coma for a couple of years. After he woke up, he couldn't remember anything between these two incidents, leading to him honestly believing he is still twenty-something years old (he also suffers from some mental disabilities meaning he isn't really "there" anymore). He lives in kind of a daycare and goes around flirting with all the nurses as if he was actually still an a young adonis. The blunt force trauma that has happened to "Benjamin" seems to indicate that perhaps somerhing like that has happened to him as well. Fascinating stuff really.

[@glitchy_weasel]

What a crazy story. And to think that many people could be in a similar situation is heart breaking. Nice work as always!

[@tomigon3987]

Burgess? Sounds a lot like Burgers. Burger prince theory confirmed

[@everythinge3151]

I am so happy at how far your channel has grown I have been here sence the very first tales from the bottle.

[@John-ym9ht]

Brilliant story telling. I laughed at the doctors...who is gonna pay? reaction. So true.

[@jmtradbr]

I bet they are charging him now

[@dakota9821]

@YeaMan I checked, it's garbage.

[@kellydempsey9868]

@YeaMan no he didn't

[@michelebella677]

I was in a detoxification program with Benjaman back in 2005 in Savannah Georgia. They had him in there because they just didn’t know what to do with him because they couldn’t figure out who he was. They kept shuffling him back and forth between shelters and places like this even though he wasn’t a drug user. I remembered the man and then left the program not knowing what happened to him. Years later, I searched his name to see if I could find out anything about him. Much to my surprise, he was on a bunch of different talk shows but I found out that for years after, this poor man fell through the cracks and ended up homeless. I’m so thankful that he finally found out who his family was and what his name was. He was such a nice guy when I met him years back. I’m glad his story came with a happy ending.

[@sonicmeerkat]

I'm so used to these crazy story's having a huge time me gap but this being recent enough for Reddit to be used as a resource. Man just makes you think how many others like him there are.

[@efnissien]

@Qxir The outro you did for this made me think of people falling through the cracks. A few years ago there was a chap that used to wander around Dublin. He was a rough sleeper and used to live in the city centre, he also had mental health issues. While completely harmless, when not medicated you'd find him wandering the city centre screaming at clouds etc. Every now and then he'd **Ahem** go on a 'little holiday' to get a little 'rest' and when he returned - heavily medicated, he'd wander the streets singing to himself or playing the penny whistle for a couple of cent's with a mona lisa-esque smile on his face. Obviously, this was down to the metric shit-ton of medication to take between his hospital visits... but mental health problems and rough sleeping mean that keeping to any medication regimen is neigh on impossible and he would soon relapse. (add to the fact there would be predatory folk that would gather around him like flies around shit when he was released from hospital, and would 'look after his pills for him'...). Then one day he vanished. I did ask around a few of the other more benign members of the rough sleeping community, but they were at a loss too. I checked out his favoured sleeping spots, but nothing. I occasionally wonder what happened to him - I'm fairly sure he didn't die... I hope he had family that were able to get him the help he really needed (because 'care in the community' wasn't working - because the community doesn't care.) I still think of him as I pass his favoured patch - and I don't even know his name (I used to know him as 'Reg') Anyhow, just thought I'd mention this so if anything happens to me - the folk that read this hopefully will remember 'Reg'.

[@JTA1961]

Thanks for sharing this with us. When I was locked up, so many people who were mentally disturbed were jailed for compounded offenses (like failure to appear) sad part is being the "'weakest"' link in the chain they were always being used & abused often by the "'screws"'

[@OCinneide]

Could have fallen into the canal or the Liffey.

[@efnissien]

@@OCinneide I'd rather think he went to somewhere nice and got the help he needed.

[@OCinneide]

@@efnissien the joy

[@efnissien]

@@OCinneide OI doubt he ended in the Joy, or Wheatfield. He was a Psychiatric case, not a criminal - and the constitution prohibits detention unless you are a danger to yourself or others(he wasn't) or you've committed an offence. (I doubt he'd be inside for 15 or more years without it making the news (even in the CMH Dundrum).

[@zacharyhenderson2902]

I could imagine taking a random job and learning that I actually already knew how to do it. Then finding a family I thought I'd lost over 20 years ago. It's crazy

[@muratdalyarak372]

This channel helped me out of my depression ty man. I don't know why but series of simple drawings combined with such bizarre stories told at the backgrou are somehow very calming and peaceful.

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

I'm also a loner and a heavy drinker (in Australia, I'm just a drinker... and if I was in England, I'd be considered a teetotaler)... that's why I'm subscribed to this channel.

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

@Safwaan nah, my liver and kidneys will give out before then.

[@davidvasey5065]

@@timhinchcliffe5372 you ever wanna talk man

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

Chill out everyone... I did embellish a little. My sense of humour is darker than the rum I drink.

[@HypercopeEmia]

Honestly, the weirdest part of the story for me was that he was naked. Like how does that even happen? A normal human can't survive for long naked outside and who the hell strips a random hobo. Edit: yeah looking at it he could've survied naked, that assumption came from a guy who lives in a place alot colder then georgia

[@michaelramsey82]

My only guess is maybe another homeless person stole his clothes for themselves?

[@CarpeNoctem135]

Enough alcohol makes your blood antifreeze

[@ChaseThePinballWizard]

in georgia, yes you can. what makes you think humans cant survive outside naked? we did it for about 20,000 years.

[@childofcascadia]

@Chase C. When hominids didnt wear clothes we a) had more body hair and b) lived in way warmer environments. By the time homonids had spread away from the tropics, we wore clothes of some kind. Even Neandertals wore clothes. Theres some evidence H. Erectus wore rudimentary clothes too. Georgias pretty warm tho. The fact that he had been beaten on the head n stripped leads me to believe he was intentionally left for dead by someone(s)

[@ACME_Kinetics]

There have been people over the years who have beaten and killed homeless people basically for sport.

[@dagoonite]

Due to childhood trauma, I woke up one day with my memories gone. I knew a handful of people were safe individuals, I knew their names, I knew my name, and that's it. Whenever something too stressful would happen, my brain would blank out that day. To call it terrifying would be an understatement -- to this day the thought of it happening again can throw me into a panic attack. But I had active support (even if I couldn't explain what was going on due to being too young) of people who knew and loved me. Waking up like he did sounds like an absolute nightmare.

[@CelestialAdmiration]

the outro reminded me of something, when you said "one day we will stop walking by them and not even notice they are gone". there was this homeless man i would drive by when i went into the big town, not often but i would always drive past him. he even helped when my car broke down. i always looked forward to that man and i even gave him food and water during the hot months. one day i stopped seeing him and got confused and asked around but nobody even noticed he was there. just really sad.

[@pokecat6122]

Wow. I’ve heard about this before, but I never knew his identity was found. I know this kind of thing has happened a few times in America in the last 150 years, but this is the most recent one I’m aware of.

[@AshleyFoxo]

Every time I hear about this story I'm sickened by the lack of support given by the government to him. Forced him to live in limbo for another decade. Horrific.

[@Mr.E-Bachs]

You are a great historian and tale teller… keep up the good work duder!

[@Teratoma..]

I hope Two Knife Man makes appearances in future episodes. I'm captivated by him.

[@The1nsane1]

Don't get too close, he's an edgy guy. Hopefully you don't get his point but get mine...

[@acoffeewithsatan]

Well, it’s not often these stories end with a happy(ish?) ending - sure, he still doesn’t have his memory back, nor does he know what the heck happened to him for the past two decades, but at very least not only did he found himself, but also one of the only people he could remember, also being part of his family. He left his home very early in his life, so there isn’t much his brother can share with him, though it’s safe to assume not only he never established family elsewhere, but also at this point, he’d otherwise wish to reconnect with his family anyways.

[@Accrovideogames]

The incident also snapped him out of his alcoholism and homelessness. He wasted 20 years of his life and would have wasted the rest of it if it wasn't for the kind person who tried to murder him. How ironic that being left for dead saved his life.

[@ckopen7192]

his middle name being "burges" confirms your theory of him being the burger prince. its literally in his name, burgerking is his birthright

[@PlutoTheSynth]

- Found behind a Burger King - Knew how to work at Burger King - Middle name Burgess This dude was definitely the Burger Prince

[@Shantari]

Love how the alien abduction angle was just thrown in last second there. 10/10

[@charlessaint7926]

*Story Time!* In 1943, a man's body swashed up on the Spanish coast. With him was a satchel full of papers, love letters, a ring, correspondence with his officers. His identity was that of Major William Martin, Royal Marines. The papers included official plans for the next Allied operations in the Mediterranean in places like Greece. Also with him was a photo of his fiancé, Pam, a couple love letters and an engagement ring. After a lot of back and forth between Spain and Germany, the documents were discretely opened and copied before being put back into place. Eventually the information worked its way up through the chain. Alarmed the next Allied invasion was Greece, Germany rushed reinforcements there. Problem was, it was an elaborate trap. There was no Major William Martin of the Royal Marines. Nor did he have a fiancé named Pam. Everything he carried, and everything he was-was a lie. His real name was Glyndwr Michael, a homeless man found dead after eating rat poison. In need of a body discretely for Operation Mincemeat, Glyndwr's body was perfect. He had no known family. No one really knew who he was. It made it easy to build a fake life around him. Some claim that the reason Glyndwr died was he failed to enter military service. The Brits built Major Martin's life. Pam was really Jean Leslie, an MI5 clerk. Technically Spain was neutral during World War II. However, they had ties with Germany and shared information. It was hoped that Spain would return the body and paperwork but not before giving the intel to the Germans. The correspondence was marked to know if the briefcase was returned that it had been opened or not. How? A simple eyelash on the papers. If the eyelash was missing, they'd been opened. They were. The captured plans lured the Germans away from the real target, Sicily. The campaign was thought to take 90 days was over in 38 days with far fewer losses than predicted. Could it be due to Major Martin? Probably so. Major William Martin was buried in Spain with full military honors. It was only after the war that his real identity was revealed. His headstone was changed to "Glyndwr Michael served as Major Martin." Whether he intended to serve the Crown beforehand or not, Michael became "The Man Who Never Was." An unknown hero of World War II. A homeless tramp who served his country more than he ever could have dreamed.

[@NatetheNerdy]

I've heard this before, but I never knew the guy they used was homeless. Makes you wonder if he would have wanted that, to have helped a country that left him cold and hungry.

[@PJ-oe6eu]

@@NatetheNerdy There is a movie about it too. "Operation Mincemeat". Plenty of stuff made up but still a good and somewhat accurate movie.

[@RonPiggott]

I knew this.

[@kele8559]

Oh I remember the video

[@thewaxlobster7130]

I ain't reading all of that!

[@zencomeseasy602]

You find the wildest stories. I love it!

[@rishabhmayank]

Didn't expect this to end on such a somber note.! Thank you

[@davidanspach1624]

Your description of memorizing dates because of their proximity to shit like Doom's release date 100% there with you, man my mind is constantly associating periods of time in my life with the music i listened to around then, that sort of thing its why i dont play video games, edit videos, or write when im angry or depressed, which ends up really helping with staying productive,

[@tjenadonn6158]

There was a point in my life where I was listening to Jethro Tull's "Thick As A Brick" straight through practically every day, and to this day the TAAB is a standard unit of time for me just the same as a minute or hour.

[@CrookedSkew]

Benjaman and Richard Dreyfuss are the same person! Thank you kindly for another entertaining and educational video!

[@DieNextInLINE]

There was a really bad recession around the time his social went dark. It's apparently considered the most severe recession since World War II. It wouldn't be completely out of left field to guess that he most likely lost his job and the recession cost him pretty dearly. Probably ended up homeless and lived a paperless life until he got 'rolled' one night and left outside the BK.

[@misterhat6395]

That Cobain/Doom connection is interesting to think about. My theory is that he became obsessed with the game and was planning to rename one of their greatest hits “In Doom.” This would not stand and he was subsequently assassinated.

[@asheep7797]

He did a reverse Amelia Earhart. Travel as missing around an entire country, and discovered 20 years later.

[@pepperachu]

Brother, I just want to say you're narration script and animations make any case you cover tons of fun. You truly created your own way👍

[@Alphoric]

It’s weird how people can remember weird things like some people who can’t remember who they are might automatically know a single phone number or their pin code for a previously owned phone

[@channelname1019]

Thank you for your words on unhoused and abandoned people at the end.

[@ceejayrox23]

I 😍.Qxir's hand drawn videos! Another great one. Glad B.K. found out who he was....I was thinking aliens too, or perhaps some undercover government experiment.

[@cannedheat2264]

Can you s a short video on the guy who forgets every 7 seconds. He’s a amazing person that’s been through a living hell for over 30 years. Or a video on total recall where a person can recall everything in there life past a certain date.

[@TheJohnnyCalifornia]

Okay... I feel the fire ants has something to do with. Seriously, a man is sunburned and bitten by fire ants and they never come up again. "Oh yeah, all homeless amnesiacs found behind fast fooderies are bitten by fire ants. Don't you know." "Burger Prince" was a good theory. He should write a fictional biography of his missing years called THE BURGER PRINCE BATTLES THE FIRE ANTS AND MY MANY OTHER FORGOTTEN ADVENTURES.

[@evantambolang3052]

I could see that being played at CN, Adult Swim, or Comedy Central

[@isaiahdaniels5643]

Put it in a video, not in a comment. Your ravings could make you money.

[@zackthomas1031]

"had the hospital employees terrified as they wondered who would pay the bill" 🤣😂🤣😂 too true

[@RAFMnBgaming]

I guess in some senses he lucked out finally being able to find out who he was, but at the same time considering everything else that happened he was definitely due a little bit of good luck at that point.

[@pajamapantsjack5874]

A man who’s the living definition of tabula rasa, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even those who wish they could start over new would want to hold on to some parts of themself

[@Т1000-м1и]

Yup, and the best thing is that we're all just constantly trying to find someone to blame for all the problems

[@Druss2012]

Voted. Your videos are always interesting and funny. Love your animation and your sense of humor. I've been watching since the kill dozer. Good Luck dude!

[@AAAnonimAAA1st]

I still think he might be THE Burger Prince. Firstly he has a striking resemblence to the King himself and secondly his middle name is not that far off from the word "burger". The King must've recognised his struggles drifting from grill to grill and when he hit the rock bottom, the King allowed him to reincarnate as his rightful heir.

[@DanSolow]

Would love to see you sell some artwork. Would love to see your cartoon spin on scenes and landscapes 😊

[@edward9487]

How the hell... I'm terrified at the fact a man could become both an amnesiac... and a ghost.

[@boarbot7829]

This reminds me of two stories about men who died, who still have never been identified. The Somerton man and “Peter Bergman”, the latter of which died mysteriously in Ireland.

[@HarukiYamamoto]

The Somerton man was identified last year.

[@boarbot7829]

@@HarukiYamamoto but was he…

[@erraticonteuse]

@@boarbot7829 Yes. The dude's family said they never looked for him because he was suicidal so they figured he'd finally gone through with it.

[@benisaten]

This was a crazy story. Great video. Cheers ✌️

[@tmn2813]

Great video as always

[@loading9110]

I bet the hospital was thrilled they finally had someone to bill.

[@Cool_Kid95]

What an interesting story, love this video! Poor Benjawilliam!

[@AndrewBrowner]

Did Guiness give him the record, for Longest Bender in history? a 20 year black out that ended in a naked fire ant dumpster dive is quite impressive

[@MichaelSmith-tg3xf]

Would you consider doing videos on either Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck or Otto Skorzeny? Both had amazingly interesting lives.

[@RCake]

Both of these individuals' memory is best left rotting in a dark, moldy corner where it belongs, until it finally crumbles to dust. Just about at that same time their dark souls may have reached the halfway point in purgatory, if they are really lucky.

[@minecraftzocker272]

@@RCake nearly cut myself on all that edgyness my dude. PvLV story is interesting how he managed to evade the allied troops in africa for the whole duration of the war. Skorzenys story is more spicy but nevertheless crazy. From SS-Officer to Mossad aquaintance he was a badass spy who deserves a vid.

[@user-ex6xc5ox3k]

I'd pretend to have lost my memory too just to not have to pay for medical bills...

[@panqueque445]

Government: "This man doesn't exist" The man, clearly existing: "Bruh"

[@kieranmorley2833]

Hey @qxir I’m from Richmond Virginia and recently learned about a riot that took place here in 1974, the cherry blossom riot and I think it’s the perfect type of content for your channel thanks, Kieran

[@maxverstappen88]

7:48 Benjaman is sometimes a nickname of sorts for the name William. My cousin is named Benjamin but his actual name is William.

[@AverageFornaxEnjoyer]

I swear to fckn god this is the fifth time I've re-subbed to you in the past month.

[@tnhl77]

as a policeman in Georgia you are correct.

[@banditkeef3864]

The ad for this video is an NBA ad for the nets for something called “10 years in BK” and I think that’s perfect.

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

...."And his credit card number" ... Only in America. Nasty.

[@mattmarzula]

Only? Are you sure about that?

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

@@mattmarzula No credit card details needed where I'm from, mate. But your right, only in America can one get sick as a young Man or Woman, and spend the rest of their lives, working two jobs, to pay for the privilege of being "well" again. And all because a section of the population thinks paying a ten to twenty five dollar, I don't know, call it "Federal Health Insurance" is some kind of slippery slope to "God damn SOCIALISM", or the GULAG, or something similar. Unbelievably, these people are also "allowed to vote," why? I have no idea ... And don't just say that "it's because we're a democracy" because they're the same people who'll say "oh, but we don't have a democracy, we have a Republic", and when you ask them to "explain that to me, please" you either get an answer with no explanation, or no answer at all. And don't EVER try and ask them to tell you what they think "Communism, Socialism or the Left" is, because all you'll get there are "the Democrats" or cricket's!!

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

@@jasonenna3544 That's disgusting, and something that would NEVER happen in Australia. We can all thank the Federal Labor Government's of the Hawk/Keating years for that.

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

@@jasonenna3544 But $19 for headache tablet is outrageous. It's bordering on criminal, really.

[@Nick-pb5lc]

Coincidentally, Homer’s lost brother from the Simpsons is also named Powell.

[@stinkymart3173]

I used to work with a young guy (17) whose family was newly ex-JW. He told me his first couple days there were a favour from management, because he didn't have his social insurance number (Canada) and couldn't legally work. He wasn't given the runaround this guy went through, it was only the government who didn't know who he was, but it's still wild to me that that stuff happens.

[@fionngallagher7813]

“Wait where did i put my phone” nah more like “where did i put 20 years of my life”

[@barrydysert2974]

i don't think i'd want to remember 20 years on the road !:-) Good luck buddy!!!

[@vexqrrblx1609]

Love your videos!

[@littlecody]

Could you imagine blacking out for 20 years?! I think the longest I’ve gone was like 3 days!

[@dfpytwa]

My grandmother's brother after he came back from fighting in Europe during WW2 became a drunk to the point their dad who was a long time moonshiner fired him as a still hand and kicked him out. He went riding the rails, bumming and working odd jobs to to support his booze habit for years until some dummy he was hanging out with let him ride his Indian and of course he got drunk and T-boned a cow with it. He was almost killed and ended up in a coma for weeks, had to have plate put in his head and several surgeries to repair his leg and back. When he came around he didn't know who he was anymore. He had ID on him and his family were around him but he could not remember hardly anything other than scattered memories mostly about the war and some childhood ones. It took a couple years but he finally regained all his marbles and another good thing was that he had forgot he was an alcoholic and once he did remember it he stayed off the sauce for the rest of his life.

[@thanhquanky]

the moment he saw the bill, he forgot his past life for good

[@MR0KITTY]

3:00 My dad turned 18 the day Elvis died. I can never remember his birthday, but I can google that information.

[@bulldogstrut1]

Great story. I am never disappointed with any of your stories. Keep them coming. Erin go bragh!

[@A2Leader]

It's always a good day when Qxir posts!

[@vendetta1429]

Hey Qxir, I just wanted to say that I keep the EXACT same mental notes about Kurt Cobain and Doom for the EXACT same reason in my head as well. I damn near exploded when I heard you mention that lol.

[@hoopslaa5235]

Im 50, with a TON of life experience, and injuries with down time, so how did I NOT find this channel before?!?! Great combination of humor, education, history, random events, witchcraft, nonsense and whatever else. Good job Sir! ;) bahaha

[@danisyx5804]

love these stories

[@wellingtonsanissimo8703]

I'm 5:03 in and I am convinced he was indeed summoned from the 5th realm by the burger gods, he is the son of the burger king and he will know his birth right.